1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a fold-and-dive apparatus for a vehicle seat, and more particularly, to a fold-and-dive apparatus for a vehicle seat, which makes a seat cushion slide forward when a seat back is folded.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, vehicle seats are trends of development of a complex structure due to addition of various convenience functions, such as a storage function for cargo, a work-in function for convenient riding of passengers for a seat of 3rd row, a full-flat function of seats of 2nd and 3rd rows, and the like, in addition to a seating function for passengers.
In the case of loading luggage in a vehicle having a fold-and-dive function, a seat back of a rear seat is folded toward a seat cushion so that the seat back forms a table to secure luggage space.
Most rear seats that are folded as described above are fold-and-dive seats, and a fold-and-dive seat in the related art will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a seat cushion 20 and a seat back 10 are connected by a connection link 23, and a front end portion of the seat cushion 20 is connected to a link 24 that is rotatably coupled to a leg portion 30 installed on a bottom surface of a vehicle body. In this case, one end portion of the link 24 is rotatably coupled to the leg portion 30, and the other end portion thereof is rotatably coupled to a cushion frame 22 (see FIG. 4), so that the link 24 is rotated to make the seat cushion 20 slide forward when the set back 10 is folded.
Also, in a lower end portion of the seat back 10, a recliner for rotatably coupling a back frame 12 of the seat back 10 to the leg portion 30 is installed.
Accordingly, in a state where the seat back 10 has been unfolded upward, the recliner is fixed to provide a space in which a passenger is seated, and while the recliner is operated, the seat back 10 is rotated about the recliner to be folded toward the seat cushion 20. Accordingly, a wide space for loading luggage therein is secured on a luggage trim 40 that is provided in the rear of the rear seat.
On the other hand, when the seat back 10 is folded toward the seat cushion 20, the link 24 that is installed in front of the seat cushion 20 is simultaneously rotated to move the rear seat downward (dive), and this dive operation of the seat becomes possible since the seat cushion 20, the seat back 10, and the connection link 23 are integrally and/or monolithically formed.
However, according to the fold-and-dive rear seat in the related art, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, bolster portions 11 and 21 of the seat back 10 and the seat cushion 20 become in contact with each other, and thus the seat back 10 of the rear seat is placed with great inclination to the luggage trim 40 to lower the luggage loading capacity.
On the other hand, if the bolster portions 11 and 21 of the seat are formed to be lowered in order to solve the above-described problem, the shape of the seat back 10 becomes flat, and thus the bolster portions 11 on both sides of the seat back 10 are unable to firmly support the passenger during traveling and cornering of the vehicle to cause passenger's dissatisfaction at the seat function.
Accordingly, there is a need for development of a structure that can evenly place the fold-and-dive rear seat and the luggage trim 40 even without lowering the height of the bolster portions 11 and 21 of the seat.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.